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Pak mobile signals along LoC pose security threat
Uri infiltration: Army had advance inputs
Spurt
in militancy
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Snatching of rifles
Nyoma
Incident
Pak violates ceasefire along LoC, yet again
Multi-crore Scam
Army, NGO rekindle hope of Dhadkai residents
skill development
Annual day celebrated
Shikarathon boost for tourism
Unexplored Doodh-e-Pather beckons tourists
Amarnath Yatra
Sikhs for audit of all religious bodies
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Pak mobile signals along LoC pose security threat
Poonch, May 12 According to sources, the intelligence agencies have already alerted the higher authorities in this regard. Telecom operators in Pakistan have set up their mobile towers within 10 km of the LoC. However, nothing has been done to block the Pakistan telecom network in the border areas. Among the telecom signals traced here are of PK U-fone, Telenor, Pak PL, Warid Tel, PAK 100, PAK 05 and Pakistan’s telecom giant Mobilink. Intelligence inputs indicate that the mobile towers have been set up by U-FONE, Telenor, PAK 100, PAK 05, etc. around 5 to 7 km inside the Pakistan territory. The telecom service providers are not permitted to provide mobile base trans-receiver stations (BTS) in the buffer zone of 10 km along the LOC. “Jammers are the only way to block the mobile signals from Pakistan. We have alerted the higher authorities and requested them to install jammers in some areas of the district,” said a source. The seizure of Pakistan SIM cards from an SPO in Chakkan-da-Bagh, Poonch, from a slain divisional commander of Hizbul Mujahideen in Mendher and from a PoK visitor last year point to the increasing use of Pakistan telecom networks by terror outfits for communication in the border areas of Jammu and Kashmir. According to intelligence inputs, Pakistan mobile networks in some areas of Poonch district are fully functional, with some offering better connectivity than Indian networks. “We do not have any Indian mobile network here, but when we or our relatives who visit here search for mobile network on our mobile phones, they can easily access Pakistan networks even in remote areas of Poonch district,” said a resident of Jhullas. Pakistan SIM cards are also being used by over-ground workers in the district, besides in hilly areas of Surankote and Mendher, a police official said. The security agencies say the use of these networks makes it harder for them to track records and intercepts of conversations between terror groups. Also, these networks facilitate outgoing calls from Jammu and Kashmir to Pakistan — a service which is otherwise barred by the Indian operators. While most Indian network services are barred in the region, a manual search on a mobile handset throws up five Pakistan networks in some parts of Poonch district, sources said. The Home Department had already been warned that Pakistan was putting up more mobile towers along the border to increase signal strength, they added. Pak Telecom network active PK U-fone, Telenor, Pak PL, Warid Tel, PAK 100, PAK 05 and Mobilink No towers within 10 km The telecom service providers are not permitted to provide mobile base trans-receiver stations (BTS) in the buffer zone of 10 km along the LOC |
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Uri infiltration: Army had advance inputs
Srinagar, May 12 “We were getting regular inputs about likely infiltration in the Uri sector for the past 15 days,” an Army defence spokesperson said. He added that the Army had received a confirmed report through intelligence agencies on Wednesday regarding a group of five to six militants trying to infiltrate through Miadan Nullah in the Uri sector. “Ambushes were laid to intercept and eliminate the terrorists. The group was observed crossing the LoC through surveillance devices deployed on In the 13-hour gunfight, six unidentified militants were killed. The bodies of four militants were recovered after the encounter. “The recovery of bodies near the LoC proves that the infiltration bid was foiled in the very initial stages,” the spokesperson added. Meanwhile, the bodies were buried at Zamboor
Pattan, Uri, today. A postmortem was conducted by a team of doctors in the border town yesterday. The doctors also collected samples for DNA testing. “The identity of the militants has not yet been established,” Baramulla SSP Anand Jain said. Police sources said the slain militants were between the age group of 20 and 25 and seemed like a group of locals and foreigners. “The single identity card recovered from the scene suggested that one of the slain militants was a resident of
Muzaffarabad,” the police sources said, adding that some Pakistan currency was also recovered from the scene. While the Army and the police is yet to establish the group to which the infiltrators belonged, indigenous militant outfit Hizbul Mujahideen has rubbished the claim of the Army that the militants killed in Uri are infiltrators. “They were not infiltrating, but were active in the area,”
Baleeg-ul-Din, a Muzaffarabad-based spokesperson for Hizbul Mujahideen, said in statement to a local news agency in
Srinagar.
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Spurt
in militancy
Jammu, May 12 “With the onset of summer, we have been anticipating some activity on the border in the form of ceasefire violations and infiltration bids, particularly in Uri, Rajouri and Poonch districts. And, in the hinterland, there have been recoveries of arms and ammunition in the past few days,” said a senior Army officer. The Army, which guards the 776-km-long LoC, south and north of Pir Panjal ranges, is not surprised by the “developments” that have unfolded in the past fortnight, including the Uri encounter in which six militants were killed on May 10, he added. In the Jammu region, south of Pir Panjal ranges, the dynamics of summer and winter did not apply because the LoC was free of snow cover and therefore their (Pakistan’s) intention remained the same i.e. to push militants to this side, he said. The Army had also uncovered militant hideouts and made recoveries of arms and ammunition in Rajouri and Poonch districts in the past few days. The Army attributed the success to the involvement of people, who were now convinced that violence was not going to give them anything except miseries. The Army and police had recently busted a hideout in the Kotranka belt of Rajouri, recovering one pistol 7.62 mm, one UBGL, 3 AK-47 magazines, 44 rounds of PIKA ammunition, 241 rounds of AK ammunition, 90 rounds of pistol, three Chinese grenades (large), seven Chinese grenades (small), three grenades, four metal type grenades, 12 UBGL grenades, 500 gm explosives (light brown flakes) and 15 detonators, he said. North of Pir Panjal ranges in Kashmir, which was on a higher altitude, the mountain passes got snow-bound during winter and therefore militants attempted to infiltrate, like on May 10, during summer when snow melted, the officer said. Infiltration attempts were more pronounced south of Pir Panjal ranges in Jammu, which comprised lower hills, he added. Another officer said the “activities” on the other side of the LoC were still the same. “Training in various terror camps is on and militants keep moving from one launch pad to another in groups, looking for opportunities to sneak into this side,” he said. |
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Snatching of rifles
Srinagar, May 12 “We have identified the five suspects and they all are over-ground workers (OGWs),” said DIG (south Kashmir) Vijay Kumar. “We have been conducting raids on various places to arrest them. No arrests have been made so far,” he added. Two pistol-borne youths had entered a minority picket at Pargochi, Shopian, on May 4 and decamped with two self-loading rifles (SLRs). Out of the three policemen deployed at the picket, guarding 10 residential houses of a minority community, two were away to offer Friday prayers. Police sources said while two militants entered the picket, three others kept a watch in a nearby area. After snatching the rifles, militants had fired warning shots. Soon after the incident, the police and paramilitary troops had launched a manhunt to nab the culprits. “With the help of human intelligence and technical inputs, we have been able to identify the five OGWs involved in the snatching of weapons from the picket. They are from Shopian,” said another police officer. “The OGWs are not associated with any militant group, but may have handed over the rifles to a local module of militants,” he added. |
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Nyoma
Incident
Srinagar, May 12 “I really didn’t expect the Nyoma ‘incident’ to receive the sort of coverage in the newspapers today that it has received. Just goes to show,” Omar wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter today. He was referring to Thursday’s incident in which soldiers and officers of an Army unit posted at Mahe, near the Nyoma airfield, in Leh clashed among themselves after a jawan allegedly misbehaved with an officer’s wife. Omar’s tweet evoked some interesting responses from his followers. “Things don’t run according to our expectations,” said Kumar, while Ambreen tweeted: “Frustration amongst troops is sweeping Army off its feet, but authorities prefer to brush it under the carpet!” Meanwhile, Omar said he was looking forward to attending the special sitting at Parliament tomorrow to celebrate the 60th anniversary of its first session. “Looking forward to visiting Parliament tomorrow, after ages, to attend the 60th anniversary event,” he tweeted.
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Minister rubbishes embezzlement charge
Jammu, May 12 Sharma said he was ready to face the inquiry and if the charges held good, the SAC should “hang” him. “I have not received the official copy of the notice so far. I will be able to give a detailed reply once I get one. But the figure of the alleged embezzlement of Rs 5,000 crore, as cited in the complaint, is unreal because the Jammu and Kashmir Cooperative Housing Corporation (JKCHC) has never had such a huge turnover,” Sharma said. He said after assuming the office of Minister for Cooperatives, he came to know about mismanagement of funds and ordered an inquiry, the final report of which was with the Registrar, Cooperatives. “Cooperative bodies are independent institutions having their own constitution and interference from the government had been minimum after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took them over,” he said. Regarding illegal appointments in cooperative banks, the minister said he took charge of the ministry in 2010 and had no knowledge of the goings-on prior to that. “During my tenure, we have ensured that recruitment is carried out in a free and fair manner. But the figure of 600 appointments is not factual, as the total staff strength of cooperative banks is around 700,” he said. On the targeting of Congress ministers in the recent past over corruption, Sharma said people who were out to tarnish his image would be exposed in due course of time. Farooq Ahmed Dar and Sunil Sharma had filed a complaint, acting on which the State Accountability Commission, comprising Justice YP Nargotra (chairperson) and Justice Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain (member), had issued notices to the Minister of State for Cooperatives Manohar Lal Sharma and Minister for Industries S.S Slathia and other senior officers of Housing Cooperation and Cooperatives. |
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Pak violates ceasefire along LoC, yet again
Poonch, May 12 The Pakistan Army resorted to unprovoked fire using small and medium arms on Indian forward posts at KP Nullah in the Sabjian sector, Army sources said. The firing, which started at 11.30 am from the Pakistan Army’s Kopra-1 and NCPP side, continued till 12.30 pm, the official sources said. The Pakistan troops fired rockets, followed by LMG and MMG fire, targeting forward Indian posts of the KP Nullah area. According to sources, the Indian troops retaliated. However, no casualties or damage to property was reported on the Indian side. This is the second time this month that the Pakistan Army has violated the ceasefire in Poonch district. Pakistan troops had fired at Kranti and Kripan posts in the Krishna Ghati sector on May 4. A group of terrorists had also tried to infiltrate into this side of the border, the sources said. There have been 10 ceasefire violations by the Pakistan Army along the 272-km LoC this year, the sources said. According to the sources, the Pakistan Army and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had reportedly brought a number of militants close to the LoC to help them cross over to the Indian side.
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Multi-crore Scam
Jammu, May 12 The Srinagar High Court, in an order on May 2, had directed the police to hand over the documents to the in-house JKCA panel for conducting an investigation in the multi-crore scam, which had suffered due to seizure of the important documents by the police. “We were hopeful that after the court’s order, the police would hand over all the documents to us so that we could start our investigation,” one of the members of the in-house advisory (probe) committee told The Tribune. “After a long discussion, the committee has now finally decided to write a letter to JKCA president to inform him about the recent developments along with the attitude of the police in this matter,” he added. “Though we have managed to collect some documents on our own, we still need some other important papers like cash book and details of funds, which were provided by the BCCI to the JKCA to conduct activities in the state, in order to achieve any major breakthrough in the probe,” the official added. According to the sources, JKCA internal panel has also approached the J&K police to get the photocopy of the documents but has not been provided any copy of the documents so far. The in-house committee, comprising Arvinder Singh Micky, Ashwinder Koul, Sham Swaroop and Mohammad Ashraf Bhat, was constituted by Dr Farooq Abdullah. He had asked the committee to look into the genuineness of various working committee members representing different affiliated clubs. The multi-crore scam came to the fore two months ago. It was found that the officials of the association were running parallel accounts in Khanyar and Air Cargo branches of JK Bank along with the original account. The funds allocated for the promotion of cricket were diverted to the fake accounts and were subsequently siphoned off by the officials. |
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Army, NGO rekindle hope of Dhadkai residents
Dhadkai (Doda), May 12 “Our efforts seem to be paying off dividends now as counselling, awareness camps and workshops organised since 2007 by the NGO headed by neurologist, Dr Sushil Razdan, and sponsored by the 26 Rashtriya Rifles and Henry Martin Institute, Hyderabad, has changed the mind set of many against the superstitions and also refrained them from intra-family marriages, which had been causing this genetic disorder. Since many of them earlier blamed water, soil, blood, maize, salt, etc, we had sent their samples to the US, which proved negative and thus dispelled their doubts,” said Dr Renu Nanda, an Associate Professor in the Department of Education in the University of Jammu. Dhadkai is perched on a steep slope, which can
be accessed through a 4-km-long treacherous bridle path from Gandoh, 66-km from Doda. Dhadkai revenue village has two panchayats, Dhadkai-A and Dhadkai-B, having a population of 3,000 and 2,800, respectively, which includes 80 deaf-mutes (46 males and 34 females), including two spastic boys. The number has gone down from 105 in 2010, following the death of 25 elderly and sick death-mutes since then. Besides these 80 deaf and dumb persons, about 30 deaf and dumb persons have been living at Batala, Dhariwal, Sri Hargobindpur, Kapurthala and other parts of Punjab, Rajasthan and Belicharana in Jammu. There were 40 deaf-mutes in 1990, while the first deaf-mute was born in 1901. Only 20 descendants of Devi Ram, a Rajput, including five married couples and their children, are residing in Dhadkai along with the Muslims there, who are all Gujjars. “These deaf-mutes need rehabilitation and we have imparted them learning skills through sign language and provided them vocational training. The cochlear implantation, particularly in the children at sub-lingual stage, can make them hear and speak as well. Anxiety, varicose vein, headaches, chest infections, ENT diseases, arthritis and gynaecological disorders are common there,” said Dr Sushil
Razdan. |
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skill development
Srinagar, May 12 During their meeting, the Governor and Ramadorai discussed the initiatives being taken to boost the skill development of the youth of the state to enhance their employability in the job market. The status of the implementation of Udaan, Himayat and other schemes taken up by the government to secure these objectives was also discussed. The Governor emphasised the need for planned efforts so that the youth availed of maximum benefit out of the various skill development initiatives and empowerment schemes taken up by the Centre and state. The youth of the state are highly talented and by upgrading their skills, they would be placed in an advantageous position in the emerging job market, the Governor added. Meanwhile, during a meeting on skill development at SKICC, Ramadorai stressed the creation of a platform to focus on the employability of the youth. “Government institutions, academicians and corporates should work together and sort out issues and mismatch between supply and demand,” he said. He added that the Central government would lend support to the state in its endeavour to provide employability to the youth. Chief Secretary Madhav Lal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, K Skandan, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister BB Vyas, administrative secretaries of different departments and state representatives of the NRLM and other officials attended the meeting, said an official spokesman. The Chief Secretary said the state government was following a policy of identifying sectors with large employment potential. He said the plan was to increase the existing institutional capacities and execute partnerships between the government and industry and also tie-up with markets nationally and globally to achieve the targets of employability. — TNS |
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Annual day celebrated
Srinagar, May 12 The Guild for Service is a national voluntary developmental organisation working for the empowerment of the under-privileged women and children. Speaking on the occasion, the First Lady lauded the efforts of the guild for setting up the Raahat Ghar for the rehabilitation of orphans and destitute women. While appreciating the efforts and cultural performances by the children, she said such programmes provide a huge platform for the talented children. She also appreciated the hard work of the children, under the guidance of Girija Dhar, chairperson, Raahat Ghar and their teachers. On behalf of the Governor, the First Lady announced a support of Rs 50,000 to the Raahat Ghar to carry out extra-curricular activities for its children. The children presented mementos to the First Lady and other dignitaries present. |
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Shikarathon boost for tourism
Srinagar, May 12 The race attracted a large number of locals and tourists. Besides Vohra, Tourism Minister Nawang Rigzin Jora and Chairperson and Managing Director of The Lalit Suri Hospitality Dr Jyotsna Suri were present. It was held over a five-km stretch from the Lalit point to the Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC). Mehraj-u-din Bujal and Fayaz Ahmad Shagoo stood first in the race. A total of 100 shikaras took part in the race. Speaking on the occasion, the Governor underscored the need of organising similar events that would promote tourism at a large level. He also interacted with the shikarawalas and urged them not to increase the fares for the shikara rides keeping in view the tourism season in the Valley. Suri said the event was organised to boost the tourism activities in the Kashmir Valley and also to promote sports in the region. “We organised the first ever Shikarathon last year and are glad to see a higher level of participation this year. We will continue to host this event annually,” she added.
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Unexplored Doodh-e-Pather beckons tourists
Srinagar, May 12 In order to attract more visitors to Doodh-e-Pather, 42 km from here, a state-of-the-art Tourist Reception Centre (TRC) is being constructed at a cost of Rs 3.27 crore. “The centre would be commissioned within five months. This basic tourist infrastructural facility will give a major boost to tourist influx to Doodh-e-Pather,” Budgam District Development Commissioner Mohammad Rafi said. He said construction of seven huts had been completed while the work on budgeted accommodation comprising 20 rooms at Doodh-e-Pather was also going on. It is expected to be completed by June 2013. Besides, view points, rain shelter sheds, parking places and food courts have been constructed for the tourists from Rayar Khansahib. However, locals say the 8-km road stretch from Rayar to Doodh-e-Pather is bumpy and can hinder the movement of visitors to the area. “Doodh-e-Pather is a virgin location. If a tourist comes here once, I am sure he would like to visit it again. The only deterrent is the 8-km stretch from Rayar, which is in a bad condition. If this road is repaired, the tourists will start thronging Doodh-e-Pather,” a resident of Budgam said. Rafi said instructions had already been issued to the engineers of Roads and Buildings Department to complete the upgradation of road connectivity to Doodh-e-Pather so that intending tourists do not face any inconvenience. Doodh-e-Pather means “Valley of Milk” in local parlance and it is said the area got its name after the cattle grazing there used to produce milk in large quantities. |
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Governor reviews steps for clearance of snow
Tribune News Service
Srinagar, May 12 “Various issues related to the improvement of road leading to the base camp at Baltal and clearance of snow from tracks to ensure the smooth movement of yatris to the shrine were discussed in the meeting,” an official said. The Amarnathji Yatra is scheduled to commence on June 25. Principal Secretary (PWD) KB Agarwal, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister BB Vyas, Principal Secretary to the Governor and Chief Executive Officer of the SASB Navin K Choudhary, Commissioner/Secretary (PWD) Designate Tanvir Jehan and Chief Engineer (BEACON Project) Brig TPS Rawat were also present. Vohra reviewed the status of the implementation of the recommendations made by the high-level committee (HLC), which was set up in October, 2011 on the directions of the Governor and the Chief Minister after the yatra last year. The Governor also discussed matters related to the expected pace of melting of snow, problems related to the clearance of snow on crucial stretches of the yatra and the status of preparatory arrangements for the smooth and orderly movement of the pilgrims to Nunwan and Baltal base camps and, thereafter, to the tracks leading to the shrine. The Governor is scheduled to undertake an aerial reconnaissance of the yatra routes between May 15 and 19.
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Sikhs for audit of all religious bodies
Srinagar, May 12 “We welcome the decision to conduct the special audit of the Waqf board to rectify the records of the alleged financial embezzlements to date. The decision should be implemented by all religious bodies, NGOs and other social organisations,” APSCC chairman Jagmohan Singh Raina said. Raina urged the government to conduct the special audit for all gurdwaras in the state. |
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pine trees and snow-clad peaks, Doodh-e-Pather located in Budgam district of the Kashmir valley has a great potential of being a prime tourist spot like Pahalgam and Gulmarg. While it has not so far attracted visitors the way it should have, authorities are taking a host of measures to bring Doodh-e-Pather on the tourist map.
Governor NN Vohra, who is also the Chairman of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB), chaired a meeting today to discuss the snow-clearance measures on the routes leading to the shrine.
“Various issues related to the improvement of road leading to the base camp at Baltal and clearance of snow from tracks to ensure the smooth movement of yatris to the shrine were discussed in the meeting,” an official said.
